Fraser a Son of Crim

U.S. Under-18 Team RC and team captain Jimmy Fraser will be playing for Harvard University next fall.

Fraser, a 5’11”, 191 lb. native of Port Huron, Mich. and a 1/16/97 birthdate, is one of those players who is not exceptional in any one area, but is extremely solid in all areas. He’s more than the sum of his parts because he can be plugged into any role and will handle it flawlessly. A strong skater, Fraser contributes in all three zones, and has a great work ethic. When the Under-18 players voted for captain, Fraser was either picked as captain or assistant captain on every single ballot.

Fraser went into this week’s U-18 Four Nations Tournament with a 3-9-12 line in 15 games.

Fraser visited BC in September, then Harvard in the middle of last month. The final battle came down to Michigan State and Harvard, with the latter winning out.

11/30/04

Shakeup in Des Moines

The Bucs, who will be taken over by assistant coach Regg Simon, have the worst record in the USHL at 3-13-4. Two of their three wins have come against Green Bay, the team with the second-worst record in the USHL.

From the moment the Buccaneers stepped on the ice at the Buc Bowl, it was clear that the they were significantly worse than any other team in the league. Recent roster moves have not produced wins. It’s unlikely a coaching change will produce many either.

Ferguson, the all-time USHL win leader among coaches with a 517-314-42 record over 18 years, started his career with the Sioux City Musketeers, and stayed there for nine years before moving to Des Moines in 1990 for the first of two stints. Between 1990-95, Ferguson led the Bucs to two national titles. After three years as head coach of the Indianapolis Ice (IHL) and three more as head coach of the Florida Everblades (ECHL), Ferguson returned to Des Moines for the 2001-02 season.

In his second stay in Des Moines, he was unable to duplicate the success of his earlier tenure.

Ferguson will reportedly stay on with the Des Moines organization, at least until the end of the season, and do some scouting and other duties.

Simon, who played for the Bucs from 1994-96 and was in his second season as an assistant to Ferguson, will be behind the bench when the Buccaneers host the Chicago Steel on Friday night.

11/23/04

Bowling Green Lands Spratt

Bowling Green has received a verbal commitment from goaltender Jimmy Spratt of the Sioux City Musketeers (USHL). Spratt, a native of Chesterfield, Michigan, and a 7th round draft pick of the Calgary Flames in last June’s NHL draft, is currently sporting a 8-4-1 record, a 2.60 gaa, and .918 save percentage for the Muskies. Spratt, an 11/10/85 birthdate who played for Belle Tire before going to the USHL, turned down St. Cloud State and Ferris State last season, and was speaking with Maine and Michigan this season.

Since October’s unfortunate photo incident, Bowling Green has – including Spratt – received four commitments. In addition to Spratt, the Falcon commitments of the last 4-5 weeks are: defenseman Kevin Schmidt of St. Mike’s (OPJHL), forward James Perkin of the Calgary Canucks (AJHL), and defenseman Russ Sinkewich of the Cornwall Colts (COJHL). The Bowling Green coaching staff has been able to weather the storm in large part because they -- and the university -- moved fast and decisively in disciplining the players, all of whom were already in the program when head coach Scott Paluch and staff came on board two seasons ago. In addition, the 'revenge' nature of the photo attack, and its anonymity, reflected more on the cowardliness of the sender than anything to do with the school's hcokey program. It's believed by many that the photo was sent by a former player unhappy with his playing time, which was reduced when Paluch and staff took over at the beginning of the 2002-03 season.

11/27/04

Rhode Island Patriarch Dies

Harvey A. Bennett, patriarch of a remarkable American hockey family, died Sunday at 79 in Warwick, R.I.

Five of Bennett’s sons played pro hockey, three in the NHL.

A native of Manitoba, Bennett spent the 1944-45 season with the Boston Bruins, while star goalie Frank ‘‘Mister Zero’’ Brimsek served in the Coast Guard during World War II. Bennett compiled a 10-12-2 record with a 4.20 goals against for the Bruins.

Though his big-league career was brief, Bennett played a bit part in one of the NHL’s historic moments.

Bennett, then 19, was in net in the Boston Garden on the last night of the regular season in 1945 as Maurice “Rocket” Richard tried to become the first player in history to score 50 goals.

Red Fisher described the moment in the Montreal Gazette in 2000:

“Time was running out, and so was the Rocket’s attempt to score his 50th. Even the Boston crowd was on its feet when Richard came on the ice for what could have been his last shift of the regular season, his last chance to score the goal. Seconds later, centreman Elmer Lach collided with Boston goaltender Harvey Bennett, leaving Richard with what amounted to an empty net for the milestone goal.’’

Bennett never played another NHL game, though he spent a dozen years in the minors, mostly with the AHL Providence Reds.

After retiring from hockey, Bennett settled in Rhode Island and with his wife Diana raised a family of hockey players:

Curt, an all-American defenseman at Brown in 1970, played center for St. Louis, the Rangers, and Atlanta. In an era when Americans were just starting to make NHL inroads, he played in the 1975 and 1976 NHL all-star games.

Harvey, who skated for Boston College, played in the NHL for Pittsburgh, Washington, Philadelphia, Minnesota and St. Louis.

Bill played in the USHL in the mid-70’s and later played for Boston and Hartford.

John played at Brown, and afterward with the Philadelphia Blazers of the World Hockey Association.

Jim, who also played at Brown, was drafted by Atlanta and played in the IHL in the early ‘80’s.

11/21/04 Updated

Another Departure from NTDP

6’4½”, 220 lb. RD Mike Stuart left the U.S. Under-18 Team yesterday, the second departure from the program in two days.

Stuart, who played at St. Paul’s School in 2002-03 before leaving for the NTDP, is a big, solid defensive defenseman with pro potential. This season, he was cut by a skate in the Clarkson/St. Lawrence weekend. The cut became severely infected, but Stuart worked hard to get back into the lineup, returning for the Four Nations Tournament last week. The Stuart family made the decision to move on Friday, after the Under-18 Team blew out Notre Dame 7-2. In that game, the U-18 stars continued to receive the lion’s share of ice time even with the game totally in the bag. However, for both Stuart and Chris Cahill, who left the Under-18 Team on Friday, there were other significant issues beyond ice time which led to both leaving the NTDP, but neither would elaborate on those issues.

Both Cahill and Stuart are well-liked, “character” kids, which is a commodity the program needs, particularly at a high-stress time like this when unhappiness appears rampant on the team, not only among the second-tier players but among the stars, too.

It hasn't yet been determined where Stuart will finish the season. That's being worked on. However, Stuart will not be going major junior.

Stuart will be playing for Brown starting next fall.

11/20/04

Cahill Leaves NTDP

5’11”, 176 lb. LW Chris Cahill left the U.S. Under-18 Team yesterday and returned to his North Andover, Mass. home.

Cahill will re-enroll at Phillips Andover Academy after Thanksgiving break and will be joining coach Dean Boylan’steamimmediately.

It is uncertain exactly when Cahill will graduate from Phillips Andover. In high school in Ann Arbor, Cahill was taking advanced courses with the hope of being graduated this coming spring. However, Cahill left Andover for the NTDP after his freshman season of ’02-03, which, if the status quo holds, means he will graduate with the class of ’06. We expect that will be the case.

Under-18 team coach Ron Rolston said, “Chris and his family decided that going back to Phillips Andover and continuing his education there was in his best interest. We wish him the very best.”

Lack of playing time was a major concern for Cahill, as it reportedly is with a number of other players – at least a half-dozen more -- on the Under-18 Team. This is something we’ve been hearing all fall from numerous sources-- especially parents, agents, and coaches. There is a distinct possibility other players may choose to leave the Under-18 Team in the near future.

Asked about the above scenario, Rolston declined comment.

In 15 games with the Under-18 Team this season, Cahill had a 3-2-5 line.

Notes:

Coincidence? Defenseman John Doherty, who left UNH this week, and Cahill, who left the NTDP a few days later, were teammates at Andover in the ’02-03 season.

Cahill is the second player to leave the NTDP this year. In what was a very different case, forward John Kemp left in September for disciplinary reasons (DUI).

Last night in South Bend, Indiana, the Under-18 Team beat Notre Dame, 7-2. It was Phil Kessel’s first game back after his wrist was scoped last month and, while not 100%, he had a three-point night – a ppg, a shg, and an assist. His wrist reportedly felt fine after the game.

In college commitments, Boston Jr. Bruins (EJHL) LW Kory Falite will be going to UMass-Lowell in the fall of ’06. Falite, 5’10, 175 lbs., is a Billerica, Mass native in his third season with the Junior Bruins organization. He played for the full-season midget team in ’02-03 and was moved up to the junior team last season. Falite has quick feet, an excellent release, and scores goals. Last year, in 64 games, he had a 25-22-47 line. This season, in 26 games, he has a 9-10-19 line. He’s a 7/18/86 birthdate.

Doherty Leaves UNH for Des Moines

Doherty flew yesterday to Des Moines, and will suit up when the Buccaneers play at Green Bay tomorrow night.

Last season, as a freshman, Doherty, a second-round draft pick (#57 overall, by Toronto) in the 2003 NHL draft, played in 15 of UNH’s 41 games. In this, his sophomore season, Doherty dressed for three of the season’s first four games, but has sat for four of the last five. Two freshmen, Craig Switzer (8 games) and Brad Flaishans (4 games); and two sophomores, Chris Murray (6 games) and Michael Hutchins (6 games) get as much or more playing time. Blueliners who are upper classmen – and all play regularly -- are seniors Tyson Teplitsky and Robbie Barker, and junior Brian Yandle.

Doherty, a native of Lynnfield, Mass., will be doing some shuttling back and forth between Des Moines and Durham in order to finish up the fall semester and take next month’s exams.

After the first of the year, Doherty, an ’84 in his final season of junior eligibility, will be in Des Moines full time and will start talking to other schools after he gets his release from UNH. He will, of course, have to sit out next season, but will have two full seasons of NCAA eligibility starting in the fall of 2006.

At Des Moines, Doherty will join goaltender A.J. Bucchino, who left UNH last month.Bucchino has played six games with the Bucs and has a 3.75 gaa and .881 save percentage. The Bucs, at 2-10-3, have the USHL’s worst record.

(In addition to the two sophomores in-season departures, the Wildcats also lost junior-to-be Eddie Caron over the summer. In August, Caron signed a two-year contract with Edmonton, who’d selected him in the second round of the 2001 draft. The 6’2”, 230 lb. LW is currently playing for the Greenville Grrrrowl, an Edmonton affiliate in the ECHL. Defenseman Kenny Smith, who graduated from Harvard last spring, is a teammate of Caron’s at Greenville. So, too, is former Maine goalie Mike Morrison and former Alaska-Anchorage defenseman Corey Hessler. )

11/16/04

Connelly to CC

Connelly, a left shot and a 6/10/86 birthdate, has very good hands, sees the ice well, moves the puck nicely, can run a power play, and puts up points from the blue line. Last season, he was the leading overall scorer on his high school team with an 11-24-35 line in 27 games.

Connelly will play a year of juniors before entering Colorado College. His USHL rights are owned by the Tri-City Storm, where he’s playing a before-and-after this season.

Connelly’s made his final decision from between CC and Colgate.

11/16/04

NHL Central Scouting Preliminary Rankings

Following the link below will take you to Central Scouting's preliminary rankings for the June 2005 NHL draft.

There are four lists: one for Canadian Major Junior players; one for U.S. college players; one for USHL and US prep/high school players; and one for European players. The college players are ranked, with BC’s Dan Bertram and Vermont’s Joe Fallon being, respectively, the top-ranked skater and goaltender. USHL and US prep/high school players are simply given "A" or "B" designations. In the estimation of Central Scouting an "A" player is one who has the potential to be selected in the top four rounds of the June draft. "B" players, needless to say, are those who have the potential to be drafted in the late rounds.

You will need Adobe Acrobat and Excel in order to read the files. Click on "Preliminary Ranking" on the tool bar on the left-hand side of the page. Also click on "Players to Watch" file, which covers Canadian Tier II, the NTDP, and U.S. junior leagues other than the USHL.

Blue Ribbon Day for Monarchs Organization

A Joey Gaudet goal lifted the New Hampshire Monarchs to a 3-2 win over Mid-Fairfield (Conn.) in the New England Tier I Midget Major championship game yesterday in Conway, NH.

The Monarchs, who had lost 5-3 to Mid-Fairfield in a Saturday night round-robin game, will represent New England at the Nationals in Chicago in the first week of April.

The winning goal, a power play tally, came with 6:15 left in the third period when LW Dennis Kearney, an ’88 from Hanover HS, picked a loose puck out of a scrum behind the net and passed it out front to Gaudet, an ’87 RW, also from Hanover HS. Gaudet, one of two sons of Dartmouth coach Bobby Gaudet on the Midget Monarchs, roofed it.

Paul Thompson, an ’88 RC from Pinkerton Academy, also had an assist on the play. Those three – Kearney, Gaudet, and Thompson – were the Monarchs top forwards.

Top defensive prospects on the Monarchs are RD Zach Joy, a late ’87 out of Dover HS, and ’89 LD Jimmy Gaudet.

Jarred Hay, an ’88 goaltender from Berwick Academy, was excellent in the Monarchs net, kicking out 32 of 34 shots. Mid-Fairfield goalie Jon Quick, from Avon Old Farms, had a strong game for Mid-Fairfield, kicking out 35 of 38.

Nick Barraclough and Nick Clark scored the Monarchs other goals, while Jon Mori and Kyle Tyll scored for Mid-Fairfield. Largely made up of Connecticut prep school kids, Mid-Fairfield notables included Quick, Mori, Sean Backman, Dillon Rioux, and Patrick Kenney.

***

At the Valley Junior Warriors Tournament, the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs topped the host Valley Junior Warriors, 8-0, in the championship game. The line of 5’8” LW Jason Williams, 5’10” RC Dan Bartlett, and 6’0” RW Joe Milo combined for 29 points in the weekend’s five games, all won by the Monarchs. All three are ’86birthdates, and all are right shots.

Brian Foster kicked out 24 shots for the shutout.

To reach the finals, the Monarchs had to top the Bridgewater Bandits in one of those thirty-minute semis. The game went into OT tied up at 1-1. With the two teams skating 3-on-3 for the extra session, it took all of 10 seconds for Scott Crowder to win the draw to Chris Higgins who skated through everyone and fired one up over the blocker of Bridgewater goalie, Charlie Lockwood, who played very well in defeat.

“We all knew what Higgins could do with the puck,” Monarchs coach Sean Tremblay said. “It was all the other things he needed work on. But he’s become very gritty and tenacious, he’s learned a lot about defense and play away from the puck. In terms of being a complete player, he’s a lot better than I expected him to be at this point. He’s come a long way very fast.”

Williams was named tournament MVP. A Plattsburgh, NY native formerly at the National Sports Academy, Williams, despite his size, plays big. “He competes,” Tremblay said. “His confidence both with and without the puck has been awesome to see. Physically, he just crushes kids. He also blocked five or six shots, included a couple big ones when his team was down two men.”

11/14/04

Mason to Clarkson

6’1” 180 lb. LD Tyrell Mason of the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL) has committed to Clarkson for next fall.

Mason, a 3/12/86 birthdate from Dawson Creek, BC, has good size, is a good skater, makes a very good first pass out of the zone, and projects to be a second unit power play guy. As a BCHL rookie last season, he posted a 7-29-36 line in 59 games. This year, in 21 games, he has a 3-21-24 line. He's the Silverbacks' leading-scoring d-man.

Notes:

In other Clarkson news, associate head coach Greg Drechsel, diagnosed last month with malignant melanoma when a cancerous mole was discovered on the top of his left foot and subsequently removed at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in NYC, received his biopsy results last week. They came back clear.

11/13/04

Forbes’ Take

Forbes Magazine, in its Nov. 29 edition, claims NHL owners have exaggerated their losses over the last two years.

The real dollar loss, Forbes reports, is less than half what owners are claiming.

GBL Junior Bruins to Defend National Title

A goal by Nobles ’89 LD Derrick Pallis with two minutes remaining in regulation broke a 2-2 with the Eastern Mass Senators and lifted the GBL Junior Bruins to the Mass Midget title and a trip to Chicago to defend their national title in Chicago in April.

On the game-winner, Pallis carried the puck from the corner in his own end the length of the ice. From behind the opponents, he flipped it out front into traffic and then, while hustling back to the point, picked up the loose puck, spun 180 degrees, got good wood on a shot, and put it over the shoulder of Senators goalie Chris Venti.

The top line for the GBL Jr. Bruins, coached by John Flaherty, consisted of Tabor forwards Chris Potts, Matt Cook, and incoming Cushing power winger Brad Malone, an ’89 sophomore from Miramichi, NB who stands 6’2”. Malone is a first cousin of Pittsburgh Penguins forward Ryan Malone.

Another standout up front was Tabor’s Steve Silva.

The defense was pretty thin Sunday, as UNH recruit Keith Yandle took an embarrassingfighting penalty in Saturday’s semis, thus making himself unavailable for the title game. Yandle, despite his coaches yelling at him to get back to the bench, chased NS Wings defenseman Will O’Neill down the ice looking to rumble. The fight itself wasn’t much, but Yandle, and his teammates who followed suit, Sean Coughlin and Ryan Driscoll, all were tossed for fighting, thus becoming ineligible for the title game, and putting their team’s chances of getting back to Nationals in jeopardy. Yandle is big and has undeniable tools, but at the next level there are plenty of big kids with tools – and many also happen to play a disciplined, focused game. Yandle hasn’t yet shown he can do that. It could happen, but it hasn’t yet. Around here, we hate to see kids squander their talent, and in 40 plus years of watching pro, college, junior, prep, and high school hockey, this typist has seen it happen an awful lot.

Nonetheless, a severely reduced corps of d-man gutted it out, and the GBL Bruins got their ticket to Nationals stamped.

The GBL Bruins are strong in goal with Stephen Ritter, who missed much of fall hockey due to a soccer hockey at Tabor. Ritter, by the way, and Waterloo’s Drew O’Connell, have both been in to visit BU, among other schools. The GBL Junior Bruins also got a strong performance from Cushing’s Richard Bachman, who excelled at the Select 17 Festival in St. Cloud this summer, and will be closely watched this winter in Ashburnham.

11/11/04

We Did Not Make This Up

Ottawa Senators scout and U.S. National Junior Team Director of Player Personnel Lew Mongelluzzo is out of action with a concussion and broken nose suffered when he walked into a plate glass window at a car dealership in West Chester, PA yesterday.

Mongelluzzo, who was in the showroom, decide to walk outside while his Land Rover was being serviced and walked into a glass door that appeared to him to be open.

“The door was unmarked,” Mongelluzzo said. “There was no writing. They had nothing at eye level. It looked like the door was open.”

“It didn’t knock me out,” said Mongelluzzo, who’s recuperating at his Lansdale, PA home, “but it almost did. I was bleeding in the bathroom there for thirty minutes. Right now, I’m having dizzy spells, I’m lightheaded, nauseous. I’m not myself.”

Mongelluzzo reported that he is going to the eye doctor tomorrow morning. Asked when he expected to be back on the road, he said, “I hope next week. I’m day-to-day.”

11/12/04 Updated

Top Gun Tournament on Tap

While the Valley Junior Warriors EJHL Tournament is taking place this weekend at the Valley Forum in Lawrence, Mass., the Top Gun Blue Chip Classic Midget Tournament is taking place a few miles up the road at the Icecenter in Salem, NH.

We are informed that the above-mentioned Spencer Anderson, who, by the way, is son of John Anderson, the former Toronto Maple Leafs RW and current head coach of the Chicago Wolves (AHL), is no longer with the Dallas Stars Midgets. Reports are that he will be suiting up for an OMHA Midget AAA team in the Toronto area within the next few days.

11/12/04

’04-05 Prep Pages Now Open

The ’04-05 prep pages – both boys and girls -- officially opened late yesterday afternoon. We encourage all coaches to enter their schedules ASAP, and, once the games begin, their school’s box scores. With strong participation, we can make this an even better information center for coaches, players, parents, college recruiters and the whole hockey community.

Fortney, who’s 5’9”, 165 lbs. and a 9/10/86 birthdate, is a St. Louis native who played for the now-defunct St. Louis Heartland Eagles (USHL) last season and posted a 11-11-22 line in 60 games played.

Fortney is fast, skates well and can make plays with speed in traffic. He’s smart with the puck and should fit in well on the powerplay.

Other schools in the picture were CC, Princeton, and the University of New Hampshire.

11/9/04

Under-17 Four Nations Tournament on Tap in Rochester

The U.S. opens play at the Under-17 Four Nations Cup with an 8 pm game against Russia tonight.

All games will take place at the ESL Center in Rochester.

The U.S. squad will be the regular Ann Arbor-based Under-17 Team with the addition of 5’5” New York Bobcats forward James Marcou, who also played for the Under-17 Team in the Blaine Tournament a couple of weekends ago.

Recent commitments out of the USHL include Trevor Smith to UNH, Nate Prosser to Colorado College, and Brandon Harrington to Dartmouth.

Smith, a 6’1”, 190 lb. LC with the Omaha Lancers, is an ’85 who played in the BCHL for the Quesnel Millionaires last season. A North Vancouver resident, Smith has a great shot, and is dangerous from the top of the circles down. He’s always around the puck, is solid defensively, and works hard. His skating is not the prettiest, but he gets there. With 18 points, he’s the fourth-leading scorer in the USHL, two points behind Lancer teammates Corey Carlson and Brock Bradford, and one point behind Indiana’s Todd McIlrath. Other schools in the mix for Smith were Maine, Michigan State, and Minnesota-Duluth.

Prosser, a 6’2”, 194 lb. RD from the Sioux Falls Stampede has committed to Colorado College for ’06. Prosser, an ’86 who left Elk River HS for the USHL partway through last season is in his second year in the USHL. He’s a big d-man who skates well with the puck, makes good decisions, and has a lot of offensive upside. In 13 games, he has a 3-7-10 line. Other schools in the mix were Minnesota, Northeastern, Bemidji State, and Ohio State.

Harrington, Prosser’s teammate at Sioux Falls, is a 6’1” RW and ’85 birthdate who played for Rochester Lourdes before going to the USHL last season. Like Omaha’s Smith, Prosser is a big kid with a strong shot, but has been held back a little bit by his skating, which, however, has improved over the last year. Harrington has a 5-1-6 line in 13 games for the Stampede so far this season. He’ll be going to Dartmouth next fall.

Heading to Dartmouth – in ‘06 -- from the prep ranks is Taft 6’1”, 178 lb. senior defenseman Peter Boldt. A 1/16/87 birthdate from Greenwich, Conn., Boldt will play a year of juniors after graduating from Taft. Boldt, who had a 4-4-8 line at Taft last season, is a defensive defenseman, and a smart player with a good frame. He needs to become stronger to compete at the next level. Boldt has a number of family members who attended Dartmouth, including two sisters.

11/8/04

Collins Added to U.S. Four Nations Roster

Right Wing Dan Collins, the Plymouth Whalers’ (OHL) leading scorer, will be added to the U.S. roster for the Under-18 Four Nations Tournament, which gets underway at 7:00 pm tonight at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube with a match against Switzerland.

Collins, a 6’1”, 195 lb. nativeof Carthage, NY in his second season with Plymouth, has a 7-6-13 line in 18 games. He’ll take the roster spot vacated by Phil Kessel, whose wrist was cleaned out last week. It’s expected Kessel will be back in action with the Under-18s by the end of this month or early next month.

Nathan Gerbe is on the Under-18 22-man roster, but still unable to play (sprained shoulder). It’s hoped he’ll be back before the tournament’s conclusion on Friday.

US forward Andreas Vlassopoulos, who’s been out with a groin injury, is expected back tonight.

All the players named are ‘85s with the exception of Pineault, an ’86. The rest of the team will be named in 3-4 weeks.

The tournament begins on Sat. Dec. 25, when Russia and the U.S. face off in Grand Forks, ND. The qualification round begins Jan 1, 2005 and the Medal games take place on Tues, Jan.4.

11/05/04

Under-18 Four Nations Tournament Starts Monday

The U.S. Under-18 Team will host Sweden, Finland, and Switzerland in the Four Nations Tournament starting Monday in Ann Arbor.

The Under-18 team has the weekend off. Their last two games came last weekend at Harvard, a 7-4 loss, and Brown, a 1-0 win.

The standout forwards for the Under-18s were 6’2” RC Peter Mueller, who of course is an ’88, and 6’2” LC Ryan Stoa.

On defense, 6’1” Jack Johnson was outstanding. 6’3” Mark Mitera also had a strong weekend.

Goaltender Billy Blasé struggled against Harvard, while Jeff Frazee was outstanding against Brown, stealing the win with a 42-save shutout. Brown outshot the NTDP, 42-22.

11/04/04

Two ECAC Commitments

Phillips Andover junior defenseman Hunter Thunell has committed to Brown for the fall of ’06 and Chicago Steel (USHL) forward T.J. Fox has committed to Union for next season.

Thunell is a big, steady, tough defensive defenseman entering his third season at Andover. A left shot, he’s 6’3”, 185 lbs. and is a native of Walpole, Mass. He’s a 1/2/87 birthdate.

Fox is a 20-year-old left-shot center who skates well and has two plus years of USHL experience. A native of Oswego, NY, Fox, 6’1”, 196, Fox was a senior at the Salisbury School two years ago but left after Christmas – a bad decision – for the USHL, joining Green Bay. He wasn’t ready. After the season, he was traded to Chicago. This is his second full season with Chicago. He is leading the team in scoring with a 5-4-9 line, good for 15th overall.

11/1/04

Schmidt to Bowling Green

6’1,” 182 lb. LD Kevin Schmidt of the St. Michael’s Buzzers (OPJHL) has committed to Bowling Green. Schmidt, an ’86 birthdate, has size, good feet, and produces offensively. In 16 games this season, he has a 6-13-19 line with 23 pims.

Other schools in the mix were Ferris State, Clarkson, St. Lawrence, and Quinnipiac.

Buzzers coach Chris DePiero described his third-year defenseman as having "excellent offensive potential, but," he added, "his defense does not suffer."

Schmidt, DiPiero said, "can move the puck and see the ice. He really stepped up for us in the playoffs last season."

Around the Rinks

Paul Dore, who scored the game-winner with 52 seconds left to lead KUA to a 4-3 win over Salisbury in the Elite 8 Championship, is a senior the Wildcats will be counting on heavily as they go for a record 4-peat. (Photo: Dave Arnold Photography)